‘I am no longer my own but yours.Put me to what you will,rank me with whom you will;put me to doing,put me to suffering;let me be employed for you,or laid aside for you,exalted for you,or brought low for you;let me be full,let me be empty,let me have all things,let me have nothing:I freely and wholeheartedly yield all thingsto your pleasure and disposal.And now, glorious and blessed God,Father, Son and Holy Spirit,you are mine and I am yours.’

The Methodist Covenant Prayer

We’ll be holding our annual covenant service at Central on the 13th January. It is a service which many Methodists celebrate as one of the most important in the year. You can find more information about the tradition on the Methodist Church website.

Our service on the 13th January will start at 10:30am, and everyone is welcome to join us whether you are sharing in a Covenant Service for the first time, have done it annually for many years, or simply want to watch what others do. The service includes communion to which everyone is invited to take part.

At some point in the night of Wednesday 28th November, some lime-mortar plaster came away from the ceiling underneath the Portico at the front of our church. Thankfully, no one was hurt. On discovery, Church and circuit staff acted quickly to make the area as safe as possible.

We have sought specialist advice, and are waiting for a further inspection of the damage. Scaffolding is being erected to enable this inspection, and protect people from any further falling debris.

The front steps of the church and portico area are likely to be out of action for some time until we are advised that all is safe. All church activities and other room bookings will go ahead as normal, with access via the side entrance. We are open as usual!

We value our special building, and everyone who uses it. We’re grateful for everyone’s patience whilst we work to make sure the area is repaired safely and appropriately.

“Come to God’s house,
you who have much faith
and you who would like to have more;
you who have been here often
and you who have not been here for a long time;
you who have tried to follow Jesus
and you who have failed. Come.
It is Christ who invites us to meet him here.”

Organ Vespers

Sunday 25th November 6.30pm

The organ case

Drawing on a similar service in the German Lutheran tradition we offer a new approach which focuses on organ music appropriate to a time in the church year or special theme.
There are also some appropriate readings and the opportunity to join singing one or two hymns from the Methodist tradition.

On this occasion we mark the church anniversary, “Stir up Sunday”, the festival of Christ the King and look forward to the start of Advent.

Central Methodist Church was a flagship Connexional project to mark the 100th anniversary of the “strangely warmed heart” of John Wesley, completed in 1840. It has seen this beautiful city change, flourish, struggle and become what it is today, a thriving hub full of visitors and residents, education, commerce and industry.

The congregation that worships in Central Methodist Church has similarly changed, flourished, struggled and become what it is today, a committed family of Christ-followers who have real passion for the church and its place and life in the city, alongside all, especially those who are vulnerable in some way.

Several years ago, we reached a crossroads. With mounting issues with the building itself, and feeling potentially overwhelmed, conversation and prayer were focused on a question, “Do we remain open, and if so, how do we creatively face the future?”.

The answer was an emphatic yes to carrying on, the life of the building was revitalised in terms of tenancies and its use by external groups, and the circuit honoured that deeply held conviction by creating the diaconal post that Judith Stoddart has taken up since September last year.

Central’s life is changing.

We have been worshipping with more variety, moved the children’s area in the church to the front, and begun to meet in small group activities and opportunities during the week, attended by a mixture of church members, passers by, and CareCent clients. We’re asking what it truly means to make the building and our worship as welcoming as possible, and what contribution we uniquely make to the city in the space we have and the faith opportunities we offer. Of course, that without doubt brings changes to our patterns, priorities and the building itself. It’s exciting, challenging and progressive. We’ve come a long way in the past year.

We have commissioned an architect to undertake a feasibility study for the whole of the building, asking ourselves, user groups and performance groups in drama and music to help us re-imagine the possibilities for the physical space we have. Part of that means evaluating the chapel as it is in terms of practicality and accessibility for worship and other events, alongside a potential long term partnership in refurbishing the basement and some considered work around the church entrances and the navigability of the whole building.

We expect to have that work completed by Christmas and will then be deciding how to proceed. We have offers of consultation and assistance from the District and the Connexion, but Central remains a circuit church in our circuit, and so we want you to know that we’re on the move, and that the conversation about our mission and presence in the city centre is alive, growing and will need to be part of our circuit’s stepping out in faith into the future. For now, pray for us, ask us about our life, and give thanks with us for the many years of faithfulness to all that God is doing through us here, and is going to do in the years to come.